This article describes initial experiences with introducing human rights education in the post-communist states in Central and Eastern Europe, in particular Romania. The following questions are addressed: How can the concepts of individualism, democracy and human rights best be presented in textbooks when such concepts are ill-defined and understood in popular culture, and when they are just beginning to be evidenced in social and political practice? How can such principles avoid being interpreted through the ‘old lenses’ conditioned to see a unitary ideological perspective? How can teaching practices that reinforce ‘learner-centred’ approaches rather than lecture-driven modes of teacher-student interactions be introduced in schools? How can human rights education programmes be designed so as to take into account an overall national context of political uncertainty, centralised policymaking traditions, and severe resource shortages in planning for such changes?
